Parish nurses serve many: Watch parish nurses at work and listen to one RN who calls her work after retiring as a calling.

Parish nurse training

The best qualified parish nurse should have a broad background in nursing, says Joyce Kaatz, one of the first parish nurses in the region who serves at Our Savior’s Lutheran Church. Since the nurse interacts with people of all ages, from children to seniors, it’s best to have a wide range of experience to draw from. Nurses with hospital or clinic experience and those with a home health background are best suited to parish nursing, says Mary Auterman, director of the Parish Nursing Center at Augustana College. To practice, registered nurses must get a parish nurse certification, which consists of 40 hours of training. A lay person can take the course, but only registered nurses can get certified, Auterman says. The program offered at Augustana College is conducted mostly online, with two days of training in person. There are about 50 training programs throughout the country with varying combinations of online and in-person training, Auterman says. The programs focus on ethics and legal issues, health promotion, advocacy and accessing resources. The Augustana program is tailored to this region and includes information on family violence, mental health issues and grief and loss, Auterman says. Parish nurses “are out there as a lone ranger,” Auterman says. “There is no supervisor or doctor overseeing them; they do independent nursing practice. We refresh their memories about what they can and can’t do.”

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Parish nurse Paula Bartels has the perfect teaching opportunity.

Elementary-age students are just finishing their breakfast at First Lutheran Church on a recent Sunday when she holds up a graphic picture of what happens when you ingest too much sugar and don’t brush your teeth.

“Maybe I shouldn’t show this to you while you’re eating,” she says with a chuckle.

With a few scattered “eewwws,” the point is made: Lay off the pop, and brush your teeth. Even better, put the money that would have been spent on pop into a small cardboard church bank that she holds up. “We’ll use it to help world hunger,” Bartels says.

Then, the nurse hustles to a table tucked in a corner of the church library and takes 75-year-old Dinah Nimely’s blood pressure, records it on a permanent card and urges her to stop by during the week.

For a parish nurse, whether it’s taking a spare moment to guide kids on the path to wellness and at the same time urge them to do something for the less fortunate, or performing a traditional nursing task such as checking blood pressure, it’s all in a day’s work.

In parish nursing, the “central focus is spiritual care,” says Mary Auterman, director of the Parish Nursing Center at Augustana College. “Parish nursing is intended to be an education and health program, integrating the health aspect.”

Parish nurses serve as confidantes, helpers, health and wellness ministers, liaisons, teachers and healers. It’s based on the concept of being present. “Instead of doing tasks, it’s about spiritual care and advocacy. It’s about walking with people in their journey.”

They are whatever the congregation and minister need them to be. Their duties are

determined by the congregation and as unique as the individual nurse, but the universal themes of faith, hope and prayer bind them together.

“It’s an arm of ministry which is spiritual and physical. Because she is an RN, she can make pretty quick assessments. Because it’s her mission, she carries God with her and lets the parishioners know that,” says Laura Borman, pastor of Wesley United Methodist Church in Sioux Falls.

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“We are the community arm from the hospital,” says Joyce Kaatz, who has been a parish nurse for 17 years at Our Savior’s Lutheran Church and is contracted through Sanford USD Medical Center. “I’m a volunteer coordinator and a patient advocate helping people navigate the health care system.”

“There is so much that can be done to keep people from falling through the cracks and helping people to live a healthier, happier lifestyle,” Auterman says.

“The church has the advantage. You can draw on those faith beliefs.”

Charles Ayars, pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Sioux Falls, relies heavily on the church’s parish nurse, Sue Endsley, possibly the only full-time parish nurse in Sioux Falls.

“She handles a whole area of care and wellness,” Ayars says, such as Stephen ministry, a crisis-counseling and bereavement ministry. Endsley also oversees the Elizabeth ministry, which pairs experienced moms with new moms; she handles Caring Friends for shut-ins; and works with the church’s meal ministry.

Furthermore, Ayars says, “she coordinates the programs and works with 60 volunteers.”

It’s like community nursing, says Endsley, 65. “The church can play a big role in keeping people healthier and out of the hospital.”

The church also is key in keeping track and reaching out to people and keeping them connected.

“There’s a lot more in store. We’re just seeing the tip of the iceberg. As the health care system changes, there will be more partnerships,” Endsley predicts.

Roots of parish nursing

Parish nursing was founded by the Rev. Dr. Granger Westburg in 1983, Auterman says. It started as a pilot project in Chicago, a renaissance of outreach work that was done in the 1800s.

The team approach focused on wellness and illness care and used clergy, doctors, nurses and social workers, according to queenscare.org.

Westberg observed that nurses provided a vital link between health systems and congregations. He urged his hospital to launch a program in area congregations to provide “parish nurses” who would reach out into the community to build bridges of healing and hope.

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There are about 15,000 parish nurses in the United States, with 35 percent receiving compensation for their ministry.

There are about 100 parish nurses in South Dakota, Bartels says, but not all of them are practicing.

As patient advocates, parish nurses help connect individuals with a variety of services. “We network with other agencies to let patients know what’s out there,” Bartels says. They assess people to determine their needs, hold classes and set up wellness programs.

“It’s helping people by giving them the information.” Bartels also makes a lot of referrals, hands out cancer care kits, lines up respite care and performs myriad other tasks.

“If I can help someone through their journey, that’s my job,” she says.

“I listen a lot.”

John Hegg, 72, has been involved with the parish nurse program as a lay person from the beginning. As part of his service on the holistic health cabinet at First Lutheran and to encourage wellness, he helped start pickleball there and set up a walking program route using pedometers.

“Our body is our temple; parish nurses help us take care of our body,” Hegg says.

'Helper to the pastor'

Large congregations can have different needs than smaller ones. Rita Blake is the parish nurse for Grace Lutheran, a church of about 900. She started as a volunteer 10 years ago and is now a paid part-time employee.

Blake regularly visits homebound church members and members in the hospital, and she gives Communion. She also provides or arranges transportation to doctor and dental appointments and picks up medications.

“I’m working more as a helper to the pastor. I do hospital visits to cheer them up and pray with them,” Blake says. She also holds workshops on advanced directives — how people want to be cared for in their dying days.

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“This does not feel like a job. It’s something I thoroughly like to do. I’m here to serve. It’s something I’m supposed to do, it’s what God wants us to do,” Blake says.

“This is a healing type of ministry.”

Dawn Armstrong, 65, has been a parish nurse for four years at Wesley United Methodist Church, which has a congregation of 350. The volunteer position helps keep her nursing license active.

As part of her duties, Armstrong visits nursing home residents and shut-ins. “I’m a good reference source because of my background,” she says.

In addition to doing monthly blood pressure checks and organizing foot care clinics, she writes a monthly article for the church newsletter, helps with the after-school and summer programs for kids and performs assessments.

Armstrong has found that many of her patients are lonely. She’s also trained as a Stephen minister and says, “both ministries dovetail. I spend more time listening and less time talking.”

She is passionate about her work. “I’m so blessed to be allowed to do this at this point in my life and career,” Armstrong says.

“When I pray with them, that’s when I feel closest to God. I’m the one who gets blessed. It’s always me getting the blessing, not the other way around.”